Gail “Hal” Halvorsen, an air force pilot whose gesture of kindness during the Berlin airlift – sending tonnes of sweets fluttering down from the sky to the city’s children – endured as a redeeming moment amid the aggressions of the Cold War, has died aged 101.
Halvorsen, who retired at the rank of colonel after a three-decade career in the air force, was a 27-year-old lieutenant when he embarked on the mission that would earn him the adoration of thousands of children in Berlin and the gratitude of two countries, Germany and the United States, for his role in healing the wounds of the Second World War.
